Going Carbon Neutral in 2019

We’ve been doing some thinking at HoH HQ. Looking around at things that are going on in the world, it seems like climate change is getting real, and the news of this looks like it’s in danger of being drowned out by political theatre. Therefore, and partly inspired by the Extinction Rebellion, we’ve decided to take it seriously and do what we can to go carbon neutral by the end of the year. We’re going to look at every aspect of our business, from our supply chain, workshop processes and delivery to the sustainability of our building. I’m sure more will crop up as we go through the process.

I’m well aware it’s not going to be a simple task, which is why we’re giving ourselves a year. One thing we won’t be doing is getting certified-unfortunately this process starts at £5,000, which is out of reach for a business of our size. But there’s enough information out there online for us to go through the process ourselves. As I understand it there are 3 categories of things we need to do: measure the carbon footprint of everything we do, find ways to reduce that as much as we can and then offset any emissions left over. Sounds simple!

None of us are experts on this, and I’m sure we won’t reach perfection with it. Even just looking into offsetting is a minefield; my gut tells me that planting trees is the way to go, but some experts say this is questionable unless you can guarantee the life of the tree. Other offsetting schemes involve enabling others to become greener, for example buying LED lightbulbs to distribute in developing countries, therefore replacing inefficient ones and reducing emissions. But what if the people receiving them don’t replace their inefficient ones but just add more lights, or sell the bulbs?

No doubt the most important part of the process is reducing our own footprint. There might be some improvements that are simply too expensive or impractical for us to make. But we’re going to give it our best shot.

If you have any expertise in this area, or any part of it, then we’d love to hear from you with any advice you may have. Email us on info@handsonharps.com

I’m going to write a monthly blog about the process, so if there’s any feedback on how we’re doing we’d love to hear it.

Happy 2019!